


be my once in a lifetime

by turtledux



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Rise of Kyoshi
Genre: A few other characters are mentioned once or twice, ATLA Winter Femslash Week 2021, Canon Compliant, Comfort No Hurt, Declarations Of Love, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Hair Braiding, Humor, Intimacy, Not Beta Read, POV Kyoshi, Rangshi - Freeform, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, title from 'love song' by lana del rey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:55:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29176776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtledux/pseuds/turtledux
Summary: [ It’s easy to get rather absent-minded while in Horse Stance. Her contemplation (and no, Rangi. It is not sulking) quickly turns back and sticks to Rangi. Her bodyguard. Her Sifu. Her best friend. Her xīngān. It’s the last moniker that gives her the most internal thrill. Their relationship evolving into something romantic may be a slightly new occurrence, but she no doubt feels herself falling deeper and deeper each passing day.Kyoshi could give every piece of herself in return for a morsel of Rangi and she’d live the rest of her days content.Even if she’s ruthless with her training. ]rangi braids kyoshi's hair on a windy day. the intimacy of stance training is inherent.for winter atla femslash week. prompt: feb 3 - braids / hair braiding
Relationships: Kyoshi & Rangi (Avatar), Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar), Rangi & Kyoshi (Avatar)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 62
Collections: Winter ATLA Femslash Week 2021





	be my once in a lifetime

**Author's Note:**

> gm wlws <3<3<3 the rest of yall... hey ig. here's some soft rangshi bc they are Everything To Me!!! and go check out all the other works for this week !!

“Horse Stance. Now.”

Kyoshi prides herself on being a receptive student (sometimes). So, she only grimaces instead of grimacing _and_ groaning at the same time. For her impending pain, all she gets from Rangi is a pursed lip and eye-roll. It looks good on her.

As she gets into the form, “How long, today?” Rangi’s index finger taps her chin in thought. She doesn’t grin, necessarily, but Kyoshi knows an amused expression from her when she sees it (It’s the romantic in her, really. She wants to know everything that makes up Rangi and more).

“Your control hasn’t been _too_ atrocious as of recent… Fifteen minutes.” She’s smiling. Kyoshi has to do Spirits-damned stance training for fifteen minutes and Rangi is _smiling_. She’d hate it more if her smile wasn’t so radiant. The Sun Spirit must feel jealous. Thinking about it for too long would probably ruin the still bend of her knees. 

… Yes. It definitely does. The made-up Kirima in her head is laughing uproariously. With that, she vaguely wonders where the other _Daofei_ members are currently. It’s better they’re not here to enjoy the show, regardless. 

“You enjoy seeing me suffer, don’t you?”

“If by suffering you mean I enjoy seeing the continuous progression of my pupil? Absolutely.” So it’s a yes. Rangi’s answer is exactly what she expected. That fact makes Kyoshi unneededly satisfied with herself. 

It’s easy to get rather absent-minded while in Horse Stance. Her contemplation (and no, Rangi. It is not sulking) quickly turns back and sticks to Rangi. Her bodyguard. Her _Sifu_. Her best friend. Her _xīngān_. It’s the last moniker that gives her the most internal thrill. Their relationship evolving into something romantic may be a slightly new occurrence, but she no doubt feels herself falling deeper and deeper each passing day.

Kyoshi could give every piece of herself in return for a morsel of Rangi and she’d live the rest of her days content.

Even if she’s ruthless with her training. 

5 minutes pass. Kyoshi huffs. Rangi quirks a brow, infuriatingly comfortable-looking in how she’s standing. “Don’t tell me you’re getting tired already.” 

“Okay, I won’t. I’ll just think it.” Rangi laughs. A stifled, small thing. Kyoshi’s heart sings. “You know what I’m not tired of?” She feels more like an important Spirit when bantering openly with Rangi than she ever does as an Avatar. 

“I can’t just kiss you every time we stance train.” If Lek or Kirima ever asks, she definitely does _not_ pout. Avatars do not pout. 

“I don’t see why not.” In a moment of unnoticed weakness, her left knee gets out of position. Rangi swiftly jabs it back into the right angle with her own leg. _Ouch_. 

“You just gave yourself your own reason why. Focus. Maintain.” Goodness, she’s in love. She goes to retort back before a sudden wind picks up. It brings her enough cold to interrupt her thoughts. Earth Kingdom weather continues to be a special nuisance. 

Certainly, it’s not freezing like the lands of the Water Tribes, and it’s neither the melting heat she imagines is present in the Fire Nation. No, flatland and wilderness-filled Earth Kingdom territory alike decides to shift between a slightly less intense (but still sometimes uncomfortable) presence of both. 

The wind persists. 10 minutes soon pass. It’s not that bad by now, but there’s enough gale force her loose hair is moving freely and slightly disorienting her. She has to repeatedly spit strands out from her mouth and shake her head without shifting her lower half. 

When she chooses to look intently towards Rangi for a moment, her expression is disorienting in its own way. It’s soft, openly adoring in a way she usually only ever shows when they’re in their shared tent, murmuring both grievances and sweet nothings. It makes Kyoshi flush, and she’s instantly hoping her skintone hides the reaction. Rangi takes a few steps closer, stilling before going behind her. Her arms twitch. 

Rangi raises one of her arms slowly, carefully. Just before her hand touches her head, “May I?” For Kyoshi, this would be nothing really. The Earth Kingdom has never had the same reverence for hair-related traditions like the Fire Nation. But for Rangi… _Rangi_ to offer a touch this intentionally, it makes her have to exhale a breath before responding. 

“Go ahead.” Rangi’s expression, somehow, goes softer. Both hands are now raised, and they stroke once. Featherlight. Quickly enough, they take a firm hold and Kyoshi feels the unfamiliar but still recognizable sensation of her hair being braided. She’s never really had someone do this for her before. She’s probably more familiar with the sensation of mud and dirt being thrown into her hair than she is of it being played with, honestly. Auntie Mui has done it before, but only ever in a rapid fashion to look decent in front of important guests. Kyoshi herself really only styles for her hair in a way that’s to maintain function. She has to suppress a shiver at the care she’s receiving. 

Rangi’s fingers brush her face, gently but confidently grabbing the more troublesome strands flying around in the still-present wind. It’s so brief she’s likely exaggerating, but she likes to think in that same touch she felt up close the other’s calluses and scars. The same ones she’s gained from her years of training and fighting, now being used for such a domestic action. Kyoshi’s head is spinning, rapid fire thoughts of just _RangiRangiRangi_ \- 

She could stay in Horse Stance forever if it means Rangi keeps deftly linking her strands of hair at the same time. The sensation makes her sleepy but she wills herself to keep awake. She doesn’t want to miss a single second. 

“They’re done. As are the fifteen minutes.” Kyoshi blinks. Stands up. She doesn’t know if it was the hair braiding or the training that makes her more stumble-y. She turns around to look directly at Rangi. Her manner is withdrawn, but she looks pleased with herself. It’s still windy, but she can barely feel the chill over the warmth growing steadily in her heart. It’s like she’s been a firebender all her life. 

“Thank you.” She hopes those two meager words are enough to reflect just how wonderfully affected she feels. 

Rangi seemingly composes herself. “Of course.” She shifts where she stands. “... Do you like them?” 

Kyoshi wants to say, _Is that not obvious?_ but she doesn’t know if that would go well. With her own hands, she feels the braids at her back. The sizes and locations of every one is haphazard, but it’s clear they all had the same amount of effort put into them. She doesn’t even know where Rangi was keeping all these hair ribbons. 

She hopes she’ll one day get to do the same for Rangi. She wants to give Rangi everything she can offer and everything she would accept.

“I love them. I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> xīngān - a chinese term of endearment. its literal translation is "heart and liver" it's really strong and used on people you can't live without/are extremely precious to you :) think similar to "my heart and soul"
> 
> thanks 4 reading!!! i hope u enjoyed it ^__^ any & every kudos/comment is appeciated, esp comments ;)


End file.
